Laser Focus World is an industry bedrock—first published in 1965 and still going strong. We publish original articles about cutting-edge advances in lasers, optics, photonics, sensors, and quantum technologies, as well as test and measurement, and the shift currently underway to usher in the photonic integrated circuits, optical interconnects, and copackaged electronics and photonics to deliver the speed and efficiency essential for data centers of the future.

Our 80,000 qualified print subscribers—and 130,000 12-month engaged online audience—trust us to dive in and provide original journalism you won’t find elsewhere covering key emerging areas such as laser-driven inertial confinement fusion, lasers in space, integrated photonics, chipscale lasers, LiDAR, metasurfaces, high-energy laser weaponry, photonic crystals, and quantum computing/sensors/communications. We cover the innovations driving these markets.

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Editorial Advisory Board

  • Professor Andrea M. Armani, University of Southern California
  • Ruti Ben-Shlomi, Ph.D., LightSolver
  • James Butler, Ph.D., Hamamatsu
  • Natalie Fardian-Melamed, Ph.D., Columbia University
  • Justin Sigley, Ph.D., AmeriCOM
  • Professor Birgit Stiller, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, and Leibniz University of Hannover
  • Professor Stephen Sweeney, University of Glasgow
  • Mohan Wang, Ph.D., University of Oxford
  • Professor Xuchen Wang, Harbin Engineering University
  • Professor Stefan Witte, Delft University of Technology

1 Unpopular Stock That Should Get More Attention and 2 Facing Challenges

YELP Cover Image

When Wall Street turns bearish on a stock, it’s worth paying attention. These calls stand out because analysts rarely issue grim ratings on companies for fear their firms will lose out in other business lines such as M&A advisory.

Whatever the consensus opinion may be, our team at StockStory cuts through the noise by conducting independent analysis to determine a company’s long-term prospects. That said, here is one stock poised to prove Wall Street wrong and two facing legitimate challenges.

Two Stocks to Sell:

Hub Group (HUBG)

Consensus Price Target: $39.94 (6.5% implied return)

Started with $10,000, Hub Group (NASDAQ: HUBG) is a provider of intermodal, truck brokerage, and logistics services, facilitating transportation solutions for businesses worldwide.

Why Is HUBG Risky?

  1. Flat unit sales over the past two years indicate demand is soft and that the company may need to revise its strategy
  2. Performance over the past two years shows each sale was less profitable as its earnings per share dropped by 37.1% annually, worse than its revenue
  3. Eroding returns on capital suggest its historical profit centers are aging

Hub Group is trading at $37.50 per share, or 17.6x forward P/E. If you’re considering HUBG for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

PNC Financial Services Group (PNC)

Consensus Price Target: $214.95 (3.7% implied return)

Tracing its roots back to 1852 when Pittsburgh's industrial boom demanded stronger financial institutions, PNC (NYSE: PNC) is a diversified financial institution that provides retail banking, corporate banking, and asset management services through a coast-to-coast branch network.

Why Does PNC Worry Us?

  1. Large revenue base makes it harder to expand quickly, and its annual net interest income growth of 6.9% over the last five years was below our standards for the banking sector
  2. Weak unit economics are reflected in its net interest margin of 2.7%, one of the worst among bank companies
  3. Projected tangible book value per share decline of 5.3% for the next 12 months points to tough credit quality challenges ahead

PNC Financial Services Group’s stock price of $207.36 implies a valuation ratio of 1.5x forward P/B. To fully understand why you should be careful with PNC, check out our full research report (it’s free).

One Stock to Watch:

Yelp (YELP)

Consensus Price Target: $34.44 (8.7% implied return)

Founded by PayPal alumni Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons, Yelp (NYSE: YELP) is an online platform that helps people discover local businesses through crowd-sourced reviews.

Why Do We Like YELP?

  1. Superior platform functionality and low servicing costs lead to a best-in-class gross margin of 91.1%
  2. Highly efficient business model is illustrated by its impressive 26% EBITDA margin, and it turbocharged its profits by achieving some fixed cost leverage
  3. Share repurchases over the last three years enabled its annual earnings per share growth of 28.4% to outpace its revenue gains

At $31.70 per share, Yelp trades at 5.8x forward EV/EBITDA. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

Donald Trump’s April 2025 "Liberation Day" tariffs sent markets into a tailspin, but stocks have since rebounded strongly, proving that knee-jerk reactions often create the best buying opportunities.

The smart money is already positioning for the next leg up. Don’t miss out on the recovery - check out our Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today

StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.

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